Nothing to Fear Anymore
by LoverBoyWonder
Summary: AU. There are three special words everyone wants to hear from their partner- but sometimes people have trouble saying them. Doctor/Master,Theta/Koschei. T for language and situations. Nothing too graphic, but you've been warned. No flames, please. Enjoy!


**I don't own Doctor Who; if I did, I fear it would no longer be a 'family show'. Please R&R and enjoy!**

**~LoverBoyWonder**

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><p>"Oh God, Master, please, please, harder-!" Sweat dripped off the Doctor's face, falling onto the pillow under his head. The Master grunted and pushed through the haze of lust, his hands clenched into fists next to the Doctor's head. "Oh God, nngh- ah!" the Doctor gritted his teeth and came, wave after wave of pleasure pushing the Master over the edge as well. When their heads were relatively clear, they both panted for a moment, and then the Master pulled out and dropped onto the bed next to the Doctor. After a few minutes, the Doctor reached out and stroked the Master's cheek gently, knowing that the other Time Lord was too preoccupied with post-coital bliss to mind too much.<p>

"Hey," the Doctor murmured. "Mmh?" the Master slurred, one eyelid cracked open. "D'you remember when we were kids, Koschei? Chasing each other through the tall grass that grew behind your house, hiding from your father?" There was something wistful in his tone, and the Master felt tendrils of the Doctor's memories touch his mind. He twisted his head away from the Doctor's hand and turned away onto his side. "No," he said shortly. "And that's not my name." The Doctor sighed. "_Master_," he ground out imploringly. "We've just _made love_. Don't you want to…tell me anything?" "Yes," the Master said sincerely. "Shut up. You sound like a lovesick puppy. We didn't _make love. _We _fucked._ Like _animals_." The Master sounded rather proud of himself. "Yeah!" he said and pumped a fist halfheartedly, letting his arm flop back down onto the bed.

"But," the Doctor protested, "It wasn't always like this! Don't tell me you've forgotten. It was a long time ago, but not _that_ long." "I'm older than you," the Master reminded him. The Doctor frowned. "Not _that_ much older," he said. "Don't you miss it? Sitting under the stars, making love…" The Doctor ploughed on when the Master made a face, "Isn't that what it was, though? You needed me- you told me you loved me, once." The Master scoffed. "Please. I don't _need_ anybody. And I most certainly do not _love_ you. Listen to yourself." "How come you stick around, then?" the Doctor pestered. The Master hesitated, just a fraction of a second too long. "Because I'm bored," he answered; there was a challenge in his eyes and steel in his tone.

The Doctor tutted. "Why can't you admit it to yourself, even if you can't admit it to me just yet?" The Master looked disgusted. "I am not some wounded animal, some _closet case_ you think you can fix up with sparkles and love. I am so much more. _I am the Master_," he hissed. "And if you think I hang around out of some deep, unknown love, which I hide from myself but you think you can somehow expose, you're wrong." His face was inches away from the Doctor's at this point. The Doctor looked at the Master with sorrow burning in his eyes, as bright as his passion but different, a cold flame. "Let me show you," he whispered. "Remember." He trailed his long fingers up the side of the Master's face to rest at his temples. The Doctor's eyes flickered closed and the Master almost jerked back in surprise. "What're you-!" _Relax._ The Doctor's voice in his head was a cool river flowing in his mind's eye. The Master had time to scowl before the psychic mantra forced his eyelids to fall.

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><p><em>Are you happy now? <em>The Master asked the Doctor as soon as he had settled into his mind.

_Koschei. _There was sunlight and warmth in the name, and it felt like the Master had dug bare feet into warm sand.

_I told you not to call me that_, he said in affronted response, but of course the Doctor could see that inside the Master, some part of him had _smiled_, was basking in the glow of the name.

_Remember, Koschei,_ the Doctor told him, and was gratified with an echoing call of _Theta_ from a hidden depth as the Master surrendered himself to a memory.

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><p><em>"Come on, Theta! I'll leave you behind if you can't keep up!" "You wouldn't dare...would you, Koschei?" "No, 'course not, Theta." The laughter of the two boys disappeared into the air, soaked in by the blades of crimson grass and was reflected in the call of wheeling birds and the trickle of a nearby brook. They ran through the field, one slightly taller and trailing behind the other, faster boy. When they tired of running, they were still surrounded by grass on all sides, tall grass that could hide them from the view of any and all living things- if any living things could be found. They were so far from civilization, so far from everything. They could barely hear the birds anymore, and all that remained of their homes was far in the distance, marked by the shimmering glass dome that they could pretend was just a mirage from this far away. They settled down onto the ground, content to feel the planet turn beneath them.<em>

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><p><em>Remember this? <em>The Doctor asked the Master as they observed their younger selves.

_Barely,_ the Master grumbled.

_Watch_, the Doctor instructed.

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><p><em>Eventually the taller one broke the silence, fidgeting, unable to sit still. The other boy sighed and gave a crooked grin. "What's wrong, Theta?" he asked. "Nothing," Theta said unconvincingly. "Come on," Koschei prodded. "I know you. I know something's bothering you." "Well," Theta began hesitantly, "It's just…well…Koschei…we're best friends, right?" "Of course," Koschei said, laughing, trying to make his voice light, though worry was showing plainly in his features. Theta looked at him with large eyes and bit his lower lip endearingly. "Koschei, I think…I love you." he said softly, his chin sinking down into his chest and a pink tinge dusting the tops of his ears. Koschei was silent a moment, but then he shifted slightly, the grass whispering around them as he placed an arm around Theta's shoulders and pulled him close. <em>

"_I know, it's stupid, right?" Theta whispered hotly, a stray tear falling from his eye onto Koschei's chest as others traced paths, unbidden, down his cheeks. "No," Koschei said passionately. "I love you too, Theta. You belong to me. You're mine." Theta's head whipped up, almost hitting the other boy's. "Really, Koschei? You mean it?" "Of course I mean it, dummy," Koschei said fondly, tugging on a stray strand of Theta's hair. Theta was still for a few seconds and then he tapped on Koschei's chest with one finger. "Hey," he whispered. "Hey," Koschei replied, befuddled. "Look at me?" Theta said. Koschei lifted his gaze and met the other boy's eyes, which were wide, as usual, and brimming with fresh tears. "Why are you crying?" Koschei asked, bemused. "I…I don't know," Theta admitted with a watery smile. "I'm so happy." He inched his face forward and bumped Koschei's nose with his own. Koschei flashed a vibrant, full-mouthed smile and gave Theta a giant kiss right on the lips, laughing._

_Theta laughed too, after a moment, and leaned in to kiss Koschei again. "I love you," he said wondrously. "I love you!" He giggled like a small child and threw his arms around Koschei's neck. Koschei endured this for a while, and then gently pushed Theta's shoulders back, forcing him to move. "Lie back," he commanded the younger boy. Theta obeyed, trailing a hand down Koschei's chest as he moved. Koschei shivered, and then bent over Theta's body, kissing his neck, then his chest as he removed their clothes. Theta rolled over onto his stomach and Koschei kissed his back and ran his fingers down his spine, letting them catch in the little dips between his vertebrae. "You're so beautiful," Koschei murmured when Theta moaned. He pulled them together. Theta's moans and Koschei's hard breathing permeated the air around them. They moved together until they couldn't move any more. _

_Afterward, both of them lay in the tall grass, completely and utterly spent. It was nearly dark and the first stars were appearing. Theta was curled up under Koschei's arm with his head pillowed on the older boy's chest and Koschei's chin resting on top of it. Koschei nuzzled into Theta's downy hair and dropped small kisses wherever his lips landed. Theta sighed contentedly. "I really do love you, Theta," Koschei said slowly. "I love you too, Koschei. I don't want to leave here," Theta admitted quietly, his voice wistful. "I know, Thete," Koschei said. "But we have to go back sometime." "But why can't we be together when we're there?" Theta said. "I don't understand. If we love each other-" Koschei laughed softly, bitterly. "They don't like people like us, Theta. We frighten them. But we have to go face them, anyway." "I don't like them," Theta confided, "They make me cry sometimes." "Theta," Koschei sighed. "You cry about everything. But you have to face your fears anyway," he explained. "Because then, when something you don't like happens, you can overcome it and you'll be stronger." _

_Theta tightened his hold on Koschei. "Okay," he said. "I don't want to cry anymore." "When you're with me you don't have to cry, Theta," Koschei promised. Theta laughed, a sparkling sound that echoed in the quiet night air. "Don't leave me," he begged the older boy. "Of course I won't leave you, stupid. I don't leave people that I love."_

* * *

><p><em>See? <em>The Doctor said. _We loved each other, Koschei._

_Maybe we did then. But that's not us anymore, in case you haven't noticed,_ the Master pointed out.

_But I know he's inside you, _the Doctor said. _Theta Sigma is still a part of me, just like Koschei is a part of you. You can't hide it, Master. _

_Sure, Doctor, _the Master scoffed. _Wake me up. I'm not too fond of having you mucking about in my head._

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><p>"So?" the Doctor asked once the Master had opened his eyes. "What?" the Master snapped. The Doctor sighed. "Oh, Master." "Don't you <em>'Oh, Master'<em> me, Doctor," the Master said, his tone clearly asking for some space. The Doctor looked down at his hands, and then scooted closer to the Master on the bed. The Master didn't move away, but he eyed the Doctor warily. "What now?" The Doctor tilted his head to one side before leaning in and kissing the Master's lips.

"I love you," the Doctor said after he had pulled away. "I-" the Master's voice cracked. "I don't know," he said faintly, so quietly the Doctor almost couldn't hear it. The Doctor put his hands on the Master's face. "Hey," the Doctor said. "Look at me," the Master locked eyes with the other man, and the Doctor's eyes were filled with tears. "Why are you crying?" the Master whispered. "Because," the Doctor answered with a tiny smile. "Because I love you, Master, and because I'm so happy." He lay back down on the bed and patted the space next to him, and the Master followed him down without complaint for once, pulling the blankets up to cover them.

The Doctor moved over to cuddle with the Master, who didn't push him away. He placed his head on the Master's chest, listening to the rhythm of his two hearts, and intertwined their hands under the sheets. He closed his eyes and his breathing slowed; the Master was fairly sure that the other man was asleep. He gingerly shifted around the Doctor's body, placing a soft kiss to fluttering eyelids and leaning down to whisper "I love you," softly into what he assumed were unhearing ears.

He was wrong, though; the Doctor heard, and he smiled gently as he squeezed the Master's hand tighter. They fell asleep folded in on each other, like they had done so many years ago as children, safe in their cocoon of covers and blankets. Eventually they would have to get up and face the world, their feelings, and their fears.

But they were stronger now.


End file.
